Department for Transport

Govia Thameslink Railway: Staff

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the requirements for the Great Northern and Thameslink services to be Driver Only Operation contained in the Invitation to Tender for the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) Franchise apply to all other services across that franchise; what agreement is in place between GTR and his Department on Driver Only Operation; and if he will place that agreement in the public domain.

Paul Maynard: The requirements the Department specified for Driver Only Operation in the Invitation To Tender can be seen in that document on page 74. Govia proposed changes beyond what was specified in the Invitation to Tender in their bid. These were then contractualised in the Franchise Agreement as an obligation for the operator to fulfil. A copy of the Invitation To Tender and redacted Franchise Agreement is available on the DfT website.

Rapid Transit Systems

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of levels of passenger satisfaction with light rail systems.

Paul Maynard: The Department for Transport has not made any assessment of passenger satisfaction levels in regards to light rail. However, Transport Focus, an independent transport user watchdog, published results in May 2016 which indicated overall journey satisfaction in 2015 had increased to 92% from 90% the previous year. This follows a survey conducted of over 5,000 passengers who had used light rail systems in operation in Blackpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh.A copy of the Transport Focus report can be found at the following weblink:http://www.transportfocus.org.uk/research-publications/research/tram-passenger-survey/

Department for Communities and Local Government

Fracking: Lancashire

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to publish the full recommendations and report of the Planning Inspector before taking a decision on Lancashire County Council's rejection of the Cuadrilla fracking applications at Roseacre Wood and Preston New Road.

Gavin Barwell: The Inspector's report will be published when the formal decision on these appeals is issued. This will be on or before 6 October.

Private Rented Housing

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans for local authorities to have access to (a) tenancy deposit protection scheme data and (b) the database of rogue landlords and property agents as provided for in the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

Gavin Barwell: Following the positive measures to tackle rogue landlords that we have delivered in the Housing and Planning Act 2016, we are working with the Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) Schemes on providing local authorities with access to the relevant data by the end of this year.Work is also underway to prepare the database of rogue landlords and property agents which will require affirmative regulations to be considered by Parliament.

Landlords

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans for local authorities to have the power to issue banning orders against landlords as provided for in the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

Gavin Barwell: The Housing & Planning Act 2016 introduced a power enabling local authorities to apply to the First tier tribunal for a banning order against a person or organisation who has been convicted of a banning order offence. Banning order offences will be specified in regulations following a public consultation and will be subject to the affirmative procedure. We are planning to introduce this power on 1 October 2017.

Starter Home Initiative

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to monitor the (a) provision and (b) price of starter homes under the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

Gavin Barwell: My Department publishes annual statistics on total Affordable Housing Supply, including breakdowns by local authority and type of housing provided (social rent, affordable rent and intermediate housing). We also publish a combined Greater London Authority/ Homes and Communities Agency funded Affordable Housing figure on a six-monthly basis. My Department plans to publish a breakdown of starter homes alongside existing housing types from early 2017.We have also included provisions in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 for local planning authorities to report on starter homes delivery in their area and make this publicly available. This could be combined with their existing requirement to report on delivery of affordable housing through their Authority Monitoring Report. We have consulted on proposals, which will be put in place through regulations.

Empty Property

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to monitor the use of procedures to recover abandoned premises introduced by the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

Gavin Barwell: These provisions are not yet in force. The first step is for the Department to issue guidance on how the procedures may be effectively and lawfully applied.

Affordable Housing: Calderdale

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of trends in construction of affordable homes within Calderdale since 2010.

Gavin Barwell: The department publishes statistics on affordable housing supply in each English local authority area in Live Table 1008, which is available to download from https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply

Owner Occupation: Calderdale

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of trends in home ownership in Calderdale since 2005.

Gavin Barwell: The department collects information on home ownership via the English Housing Survey (EHS). The size of the EHS sample does not permit us to produce local authority estimates. England figures going back to 1980 can be found in AT1.1 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/501068/2014-15_Section_1_Households_tables_and_figures_FINAL.xlsx

Housing: Construction

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to set new carbon standards for the new-build housing sector.

Gavin Barwell: The Government has a duty under section 165 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to carry out a review of the minimum energy performance requirements for new homes in the Building Regulations. Work on the review is under way.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Solar Power: Redundancy

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the change in the number of jobs in the UK solar sector since May 2015.

Jesse Norman: The Department does not hold estimates of the number of jobs in the UK solar sector.

Research Councils

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will postpone the reorganisation of UK Science Research Councils until the UK has renegotiated its relationship with the EU.

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of UK negotiations with the EU resulting from the outcome of the referendum on the planned reorganisation of UK Science Research Councils proposed by Sir Paul Nurse.

Joseph Johnson: The Government will continue taking forward the important legislation that was set before Parliament in the Queen’s Speech, including the Higher Education and Research Bill. This includes the formation of the new body UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Now, more than ever, we need a strong and unified voice to represent the interests of UK research and innovation across Europe and around the world which UKRI will provide.

Renewable Energy: Investment

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on investment in renewable energy of the UK withdrawing from the EU.

Jesse Norman: Since the EU referendum, the Government has been engaging with our key energy stakeholders, including investors in the renewable energy sector, to make it clear that we are open for business. The UK remains an attractive environment for investors in energy.

Wind Power: Tees Valley

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much electricity has been generated by Teesside Wind Farm in each year since it opened.

Jesse Norman: The Teesside Offshore Wind farm has generated the following amounts of electricity in each year since it opened; 2013 (July to December):79,405 MWh2014121,808 MWh2015210,057 MWh2016 (January to March)57,729 MWh This information is publically available on the Ofgem website at: https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportManager.aspx?ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=0.

Fossil Fuels: Industry

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the stability of the oil and gas industry.

Jesse Norman: We are working closely with the Oil and Gas Authority and industry to ensure we have a clear understanding of the issues affecting the sector, including the impact of low prices.

Energy: Foreign Investment in UK

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the outcome of the EU referendum on levels of overseas investment in the UK energy sector.

Jesse Norman: Since the EU referendum, the Government has been engaging with our key energy stakeholders, including overseas investors in the UK energy sector, to make it clear that we are open for business. The UK remains an attractive environment for investors in energy.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the implications of the outcome of the EU referendum are for changes to the potential number of solar jobs supported on a headcount basis set out in his Department's Impact Assessment on the Periodic Review of Feed-in Tariffs, published on 17 December 2015.

Jesse Norman: The Government’s guiding principle throughout the process of leaving the EU will be to ensure the best possible outcome for the British people. At this stage, it is not possible to assess the implications of the outcome of the EU referendum on the potential solar jobs figures set out in the Impact Assessment.

Energy: Imports

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2016 to Question 42023, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of exchange rate fluctuations following the EU referendum on the (a) cost to the UK of importing energy and (b) levels imported; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Department has not made an assessment of the potential effect of exchange rate fluctuations on the levels or cost to the UK of imported energy following the EU referendum. It is too early to speculate on any resulting medium and long-term exchange rate fluctuations. Furthermore, exchange rates are only one of the factors that will influence volumes and costs of imported energy.

Electricity Interconnectors: Iceland

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the possible long-term exchange rate fluctuations resulting from the outcome of the EU referendum on the viability of the IceLink project; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The UK Government is not considering the Ice Link project.

Electricity Interconnectors: Norway

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the possible long-term exchange rate fluctuations resulting from the outcome of the EU referendum on the viability of the North Sea Link project; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The North Sea Link interconnector is being developed by National Grid and Statnett as a commercial business. National Grid has confirmed to us that the outcome of the referendum does not affect the delivery of the project and that construction is continuing as planned.

Electricity Generation

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate any advantage which fossil fuel generated electricity imported via interconnector has over domestic electricity generation on which carbon price floor rates are applied.

Jesse Norman: Whatever the source, and wherever it is from, we import electricity when the cost is lower than here in the UK, driving down consumer bills. Ofgem’s analysis of proposed interconnector projects shows that the carbon price floor is not the determinate of whether the projects are in the interests of UK consumers.

Gas Fired Power Stations: Greater Manchester

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress has been made on the status of the proposed Trafford combined cycle gas turbine plant.

Jesse Norman: Following representations from the developer, as provided for under the Capacity Market legislation, an extension of 60 working days to 19 December has been granted for them to achieve the requirements of the Capacity Market progress milestone. The Secretary of State’s discretionary powers to extend a compliance period are designed to recognise situations where a little additional time can help a provider achieve a milestone, to the benefit of our security of supply.

Electricity Generation: National Grid

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to remove any potential conflict of interest between National Grid and its electricity balancing and management responsibilities.

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to remove any potential conflict of interest between National Grid and its support for new interconnectors to import electricity.

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to create a new independent system operator to remove any potential conflict of interest between National Grid and its electricity balancing and management responsibilities.

Jesse Norman: There is a case for greater independence for the system operator to promote more competition and flexibility in our electricity system. We are working alongside National Grid and Ofgem to this end, so that the electricity system continues to be operated in the best interest of consumers.

Energy Supply: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on measures to ensure that the electricity supply to customers in Northern Ireland is protected.

Jesse Norman: The Department has regular discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on a range of energy related matters including security of electricity supply. Northern Ireland operates a single electricity market with the Republic of Ireland and energy policy, including issues relating to the supply of electricity, is devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to renegotiate the strike price per megawatt hour for Hinkley Point C; and if he will assess the potential merits of imposing a limit on the taxpayer subsidy to EDF.

Jesse Norman: Hinkley Point C is a good deal for consumers – it will provide reliable energy at an affordable cost, powering nearly six million homes for around 60 years and creating more than 25,000 jobs.Today nuclear provides around 19% of our electricity but these ageing plants won’t go on forever. Therefore the Government is committed to our policy of building new nuclear in the interest of energy security and decarbonisation, and keeping costs down for the consumer.Consumers will only pay when Hinkley is up and running.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to prevent overselling of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme to unsuitable properties; and what protections are in place for (a) the elderly and (b) other vulnerable people.

Jesse Norman: One of the eligibility requirements of the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive scheme is certification of products and installation companies under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). As part of the MCS scheme, the installation company must also be a member of a Chartered Trading Standards Institute approved consumer code which sets out the standards that installers must meet in contracting with consumers. The codes cover advertising and promotion, behaviour of sales staff, proposals, estimates and quotes, terms of business, cancellation rights, deposits and prepayments, guarantees, maintenance and service agreements and service and repair. The consumer codes also include specific provisions on dealing with vulnerable consumers.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to improve the communication of information about the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme to (a) applicants and (b) other bodies involved.

Jesse Norman: Ofgem E-serve administers the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme on behalf of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. They publish comprehensive guidance and consumer information on their website. This includes factsheets containing basic information for consumers, guides for applying to the scheme and links to consumer protection organisations. The Energy Saving Advice Service, for England and Wales, and Home Energy Scotland, for consumers in Scotland, provides advice to consumers considering applying to the scheme both on the internet and through a telephone help line. The Department meets regularly with stakeholders in the renewable heating industry and wider sector to communicate the latest information on the Renewable Heat Initiative.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to improve consumer protection for applicants to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme; and what plans he has to review those steps.

Jesse Norman: Consumer protection lies at the heart of the design of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. One of the eligibility requirements of the scheme is certification of products and installation companies under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). The MCS aims to deliver reliable and high performing installations and to provide a route for redress where there are consumer complaints. Installation companies that are certified by the MCS scheme must also be a member of a Chartered Trading Standards Institute approved consumer code. This code sets out the standards that installers must meet in contracting with consumers. In September 2015, DCLG and DECC commissioned Dr Peter Bonfield to undertake an independent review of consumer advice and protection, standards and enforcement in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors. The review is due to report shortly.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the projected fall in wholesale electricity prices on the financial feasibility of the proposed Hinkley C nuclear power plant; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Government remains confident in the Hinkley Point C project. Contracts for Difference provide long-term price certainty for generators and investors, which drives investment in a new generation of clean, secure electricity supplies. Consumers will only pay when Hinkley is up and running. The Secretary of State’s decision will be informed by a value for money assessment, a summary of which will be published alongside the contract.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

EU Countries: British Nationals Abroad

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of the outcome of the EU referendum on the rights of British citizens to continue to reside in other EU countries.

Sir Alan Duncan: Securing such rights will form an important part of the UK's negotiations to leave the EU.

Gibraltar

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions the Government has had with the Gibraltar authorities on the potential implications of the outcome of the EU referendum.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) met the Chief Minister of Gibraltar in London on 16 July. The then Minister for Europe, my Rt Hon Friend the member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington) spoke to the Chief Minister twice by telephone on 24 June about the outcome of the referendum. He also met the Chief Minister on 28 June in London to discuss the potential implications, and again on 11 July alongside the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Mr Letwin). In addition, officials continue to be in frequent contact with their Gibraltarian counterparts.In all of these discussions, the former Minister of State made clear the outcome of the referendum does not affect the United Kingdom’s steadfast and longstanding commitment to Gibraltar, and its guarantee to stand by the double-lock on sovereignty.The Government has also confirmed that, as it prepares for the process to leave the EU, we will fully involve Gibraltar to ensure that all of its interests are taken properly into account. In the meantime, the Government will continue to take whatever action is necessary to safeguard Gibraltar, its people and its economy, including maintaining a well-functioning Gibraltar-Spain border.

Russia: Diplomatic Service

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Russian government on increases in the number of attacks on EU and US diplomats stationed in Russia.

Sir Alan Duncan: We continue to take robust measures to protect all our staff in Russia and raise our concerns with the Russian authorities in Moscow and the Embassy in London as appropriate.

International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the UK's representatives on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance were appointed and to whom they report.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 19 July 2016



The UK delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance is currently led by Sir Eric Pickles, the UK Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues, appointed in September 2015, who reports to the Minister for Human Rights in the Foreign Office and also to the Prime Minister. There is no formal process for appointing members of the UK delegation. Representatives are drawn from a range of UK non-government organisations and academic institutions, covering Holocaust education, remembrance and research. Delegates are expected to play an active part in the IHRA’s various working groups and committees, including taking part in discussions between formal meetings, and fund their own travel costs. We always welcome expressions of interest from organisations interested in being represented.

International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans the Government has for parliamentary scrutiny of the work of the UK's representatives on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance; and if he will list the (a) dates and (b) means by which its decisions have been reported to Parliament during 2016.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 19 July 2016



The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance was established in 1988 as a result of the Stockholm Declaration, which represents a political commitment between signatories, rather than a legal one. Its decisions are not legally binding and have no direct impact on UK legislation, policy or resources. As such there is no formal requirement for parliamentary scrutiny of its decisions. All its activities and decisions are reported in full on its website.

China: Human Rights

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2016 to Question 39875, when he plans to hold the next round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.

Alok Sharma: We continue to press the Chinese authorities for dates for the next round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue. We value the Dialogue to raise the full range of our human rights concerns, but in its absence we raise individual cases of human rights abuse in other meetings. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my noble Friend, the Rt Hon. the Baroness of Anelay of St Johns raised the importance of the Dialogue and two individual cases of concern relating to religious freedoms and minority rights with Fu Ying, chair of China’s National People’s Congress’ Foreign Affairs on 7 July.

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2016 to Question 41351, for what reason his Department has not called for an international commission of inquiry to be established in addition to the measures listed in that Answer.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We want to see the Saudis investigate allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) which are attributed to them; and for their investigations to be thorough and conclusive. Saudi Arabia has publicly stated that it is investigating reports of alleged violations of IHL, and that any lessons learned will be acted upon. They have the best insight into their own military procedures. This is the standard we set ourselves and our allies. For example, when allegations have been made against us in Afghanistan and Iraq we investigated these claims.

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2016 to Question 40002, what support to the UN Special Envoys the £1.05 million will provide.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), has made clear that the Government continues to be fully supportive of the work of the work of the UN Special Envoy. The UK’s funding for the UN Special Envoy for Yemen’s office, alongside support from other donors, is assisting the UN-led peace process. It enables the UN to recruit technical experts on issues such as mediation, ceasefire design and monitoring, and disarmament and demobilisation. Our support is also helping the UN deliver the logistics of holding formal talks, shuttle diplomacy, and engaging with other political actors in Yemen.

Cabinet Office

Chevening

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the running costs of Chevening House were in the last 12 months.

Ben Gummer: Chevening House is not part of the government’s estate. The running costs are a matter for the Trustees

Public Sector: Procurement

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many public procurement contracts were won by small and medium-sized businesses in each region in the last five years.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many small and medium-sized businesses bid for a public contract in each region in the last five years.

Ben Gummer: In 2014-15, Central Government spent over £12 billion (27.1%) with small and medium sized businesses, which shows a continued year on year increase in SMEs winning public procurements.The Government is determined to deliver its new target of one third of spend with SMEs by the end of this Parliament and we have appointed Emma Jones as the new Crown Representative for SMEs to help us achieve that.We do not hold information on the number of public sector contracts won by small businesses or on the number of companies bidding.

Senior Civil Servants: Females

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2016 to Question 42775, what assessment he has made of progress to date towards meeting the target of 50 per cent of applicants for senior Civil Service posts being female.

Ben Gummer: Work is currently underway to monitor the diversity of applicants for SCS posts, including the male/female ratio. An analysis of this information will take place later in the year to help the department to understand what the barriers are for applicants what actions can be taken to overcome them.

Attorney General

Sentencing: Appeals

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Attorney General, on how many occasions the Law Officers referred a criminal sentence to the Court for Appeal for review on the grounds that it was unduly harsh in the last 12 months.

Robert Buckland: Whilst the Attorney General’s Office can ask the Court of Appeal to review a sentence which is considered to be unduly lenient, the Law Officers have no power to intervene when a sentence is too harsh. Therefore there have been no referrals to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that a sentence was unduly harsh.

Department for International Development

GuarantCo

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the proposed creation of a contingent liability of £40 million in respect of callable capital of GuarantCo is treated as Official Development Assistance (a) when the contingent liability is created and (b) in the event that capital is called from the public purse under the contingent liability.

Rory Stewart: The creation of the contingent liability in respect of the callable capital for GuarantCo does not have immediate budgetary implications and is not treated as Official Development Assistance (ODA). If the capital is called it will be treated as ODA. This is in line with the internationally agreed rules on ODA.

Department for International Development: Staff

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department employs staff with responsibility for developing best practice on withdrawing bilateral programmes from countries that transition to middle-income status.

Rory Stewart: Transition planning and development of best practice is led by the relevant country office, with support from officials in the UK and across regions. Each transition process has been different depending on circumstance. ICAI is currently undertaking a review of DFID’s approach to transition and their report is due to be published towards the end of 2016.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support the Government is providing to micro-insurance schemes in developing countries for the protection of livelihoods from the effects of climate change.

Rory Stewart: DFID’s work on climate resilience includes a number of weather-related microinsurance initiatives and a major research programme on scaling up microinsurance in the agricultural sector.

Burma: Thailand

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that humanitarian aid is delivered to displaced people along the Thai-Burmese border.

Rory Stewart: DFID has a £33.6m four year programme providing humanitarian, health and peacebuilding assistance to Eastern border areas of Burma. This includes humanitarian assistance to the nine Burmese refugee camps in Thailand, as well as assistance to displaced and conflict-affected people in Eastern Burma. DFID is the second largest donor to The Border Consortium, who provide food and shelter to the Burmese refugee camps in Thailand. DFID also funds health and legal assistance to refugees in the camps.DFID officials visit the refugee camps regularly and work with implementing partners to monitor that our assistance is reaching the most vulnerable displaced people.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to support the G7 Initiative on Climate Risk Insurance; and what assessment her Department has made of progress towards the target of expanding insurance coverage to 400 million people by 2020.

Rory Stewart: DFID has a large and growing disaster risk finance and insurance portfolio, with up to £136m approved or invested to date. This includes our £100 million contribution to the Africa Risk Capacity, which aims to reach 150 million people by 2020. The G7 are setting up an expert group to develop indicators to measure progress against the ‘Insuresilience’ target, against which all G7 members, including the UK, will report progress.

Yemen: Politics and Government

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with (a) her international counterparts, (b) international organisations and (c) NGOs on the situation in Yemen.

Rory Stewart: The UK is playing a leading role in responding to the crisis in Yemen. DFID Ministers regularly have discussions with international counterparts, organisations, and NGOs on the situation in Yemen. The World Humanitarian Summit in May was obviously a key moment for such discussions.Senior officials also have regular discussions on the situation in Yemen. Mark Lowcock, DFID Permanent Secretary, recently discussed the humanitarian and economic situation in Yemen with international counterparts on 11 July, at the annual Tidewater conference of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-ordination and Development (OECD-DAC).

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will increase its contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

James Wharton: The Global Fund has announced its 2017-2019 replenishment target – seeking to mobilise US$13billion to save 8 million lives and avert up to 300 million new infections. The UK is planning to support a successful Fifth Replenishment of a strong, value for money Global Fund and a decision on the size of our investment will be made later in the summer.

Department for Education

Academies: Sex and Relationship Education

William Wragg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Education for All Bill will require academies to provide sex and relationships education.

Edward Timpson: All schools should offer high quality, age-appropriate sex and relationship education, and build a curriculum that meets the needs of all their students. Sex and relationship education is compulsory in all maintained secondary schools. Academies do not have to teach sex and relationship education but many choose to do so as part of their statutory duty to provide a broad and balanced curriculum.The content of any forthcoming Bill will be announced in due course.

Academies: Admissions

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39593, for what reason  more directions were upheld in 2008 than in other years listed.

Nick Gibb: Local authorities have powers to direct maintained schools to admit pupils. Where a school wishes to appeal such a direction, it may refer the case to the Schools Adjudicator. If the Adjudicator decides that the school should admit the child they can uphold the direction. Such cases are very rare and may occur for different reasons. We do not hold information centrally on the reasons or circumstances of each case, and we are unable to comment on why more directions were referred to and upheld by the Adjudicator in that particular year.

Academies: Admissions

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39597, how many similar requests to intervene were made by local authorities to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator in each year from 2012.

Nick Gibb: Schools Adjudicators do not have powers to intervene in response to requests by local authorities regarding the admission of individual children. Local authorities (LAs) would not make such requests to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator. Under sections 96 and 97 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, a LA has the power to direct the admission authority for a maintained school to admit a child. Where a school wishes to appeal a local authority’s intention to direct it to admit a child, the governing body may refer the case to the Schools Adjudicator. The Adjudicator may uphold the appeal, or not uphold the appeal. If the appeal is not upheld the school is required to admit the child. If the appeal is upheld, the Adjudicator has power (but is not required) to direct another school to admit the child. If the school does not admit a child following a direction by a LA or Schools Adjudicator, they would be failing in a legal duty and the Secretary of State would be able to use her powers under sections 496 and 497 of the Education Act 1996. The Secretary of State is rarely asked to do this, and we do not record the number of such requests centrally.

Primary Education

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2016 to Question 39094, if she will provide the answer sought in that Question from the data collected in the consultation document.

Nick Gibb: We have worked with teachers, head teachers and unions as the primary assessment reforms have been introduced, and have listened to their concerns in supporting schools to adjust to the new system this year. We will continue to listen to and engage with the profession as the details of the new assessment arrangements are finalised and we build stability for future years. As set out in the answer to PQ 39094, while the 2013 consultation was a valuable excerise to seeks views on aspects of policy, it was not designed to ask teachers and head teachers specifically to indicate their support for the principle of the assessment reforms which took effect this year. An answer to that question cannot, therefore, be derived from the data collected as part of that consultation.

Pupils: Personal Records

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons her Department plans to begin collecting country of birth data on children aged two to 19 from Autumn 2016; what limitations will be placed by her Department on disclosure of such information to (a) other government departments and (b) private third parties; and whether her Department plans to change its protocols or processes for handling and disclosure of confidential information when country of birth data begins to be collected.

Nick Gibb: The collection of data on the country of birth and nationality of pupils will be used to improve our understanding of the scale and impact of pupil migration on the education sector, and provide the Department with a better evidence base for future policy decision making. These new data items will provide valuable statistical information on the characteristics of these groups of children, and along with their attainment and destinations, will allow the Department to measure whether the individual pupils, or the schools they attend, face additional educational challenges. The data will be collected solely for internal Departmental use for the analytical, statistical and research purposes described above. There are currently no plans to share the data with other government Departments and decisions on whether the Department will release any personal data to third parties are subject to a robust approval process and are based on a detailed assessment of who is requesting the data, the purpose for which it is required, the level and sensitivity of data requested and the arrangements in place to store and handle the data. Details about the process are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-pupil-database-apply-for-a-data-extract There are currently no plans for the Department to change the existing protocols and processes for the handling and disclosure of confidential information.

Children: Day Care

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the quality of early education and childcare.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government wants all children, regardless of their starting point, to have access to quality early education and childcare, as we know this makes a difference to their outcomes in later life. That is why we have taken the following steps to support the quality of early years provision: The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) helps early years providers to prepare young children for school and improve their life chances by requiring them to deliver high-quality provision. The 2014-15 EYFS Profile results show that the proportion of children achieving a good level of development continues to increase – 66% in 2015, compared to 60% in 2014, and 52% in 2013. We work closely with Ofsted to ensure a robust regulatory and inspection framework to drive continuous improvement in quality. The sector has responded very positively and the latest statistics show that 86% of early years providers were rated “good” or “outstanding” as of 31 March 2016. The quality of the workforce continues to improve, with 87% of staff in full day care settings now qualified to level 3 (equivalent level of study to A-level). We are developing a workforce strategy that will aim to remove barriers to attracting, retaining and developing staff. From September 2016, all newly qualified level 2 and level 3 staff must also have paediatric first aid training if they are to count in the EYFS staff:child ratios. This will mean an extra 15,000 staff a year coming into the sector with first aid training, providing vital reassurance to parents that their children will be well cared for. We have also introduced the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP). Each eligible child will is funded for an EYPP of 53p per hour on top of the rate currently paid for the funded entitlement. This amounts to over £300 a year for a child taking up the full entitlement. Providers have flexibility about how they spend this money in order to improve the quality of provision for eligible children, but are held to account by Ofsted for using it effectively.

Academies: Standards

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what performance measures her Department plans to use to determine whether a Multi Academy Trust is permitted to expand.

Edward Timpson: When schools are converting to academy status as part of a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) or joining an existing MAT, it is the Regional Schools Commissioner’s (RSC) role to decide, on behalf of the Secretary of State, whether to approve or decline the application.When schools are converting to academy status as part of a MAT or joining an existing MAT, the RSC will want to be assured that the governance and leadership of the MAT is clear and robust and that the MAT has the capacity to drive improvement across all schools within it. Consideration will include, amongst other things, Ofsted judgements and published performance measures in relation to progress and attainment of academies already within the MAT, how these relate to the floor standard, and national and local averages, as well as improvement over time. The RSC will also consider the performance of the academy applying to join the MAT.The White Paper Educational Excellence Everywhere, committed to increasing accountability by publishing data to show how MATs are performing. We began to deliver on this with the publication earlier this month of MAT performance measures for 2014-15, which can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/multi-academy-trust-performance-measures-2014-to-2015A key benefit of an academy-based system is that it can be responsive to performance, and the White Paper committed to testing further how we can develop a system with the right balance of intervention, review and stability. We want to continue to engage widely on this in upcoming months.

Free School Meals: Bury St Edmunds

Jo Churchill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children living in Bury St Edmunds constituency have been eligible to receive free school meals in each of the last six years.

Nick Gibb: The number of pupils attending schools in Bury St Edmunds and known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in each of the last six years is given in the table below:YearNumber of Pupils on RollNumber of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming FSM% of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming FSMJanuary 201117,4361,3287.6January 201217,4121,3657.8January 201317,2701,5158.8January 201417,2941,7169.9January 201517,5101,6189.2January 201617,3601,5088.7 This information has been calculated from the underlying data of the ‘schools, pupils and their characteristics’ statistical release[1] for each corresponding year.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers

Academies

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2016 to Question 42232, what the content of the MAT CEO programme is; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: The Department has worked with the Future Leaders Trust to successfully pilot the Executive Educators programme for Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) leaders, which is now being rolled out. The Department is now working closely with a number of leading business schools and higher education providers to ensure that the distinctive programmes which they will each be offering are designed to meet the range of needs amongst current and future MAT leaders.The programmes will focus, through a tailored approach, on enabling participants to acquire the business and management skills needed to run and grow a MAT sustainably and effectively. Indicative topics may include: vision-setting and developing strategic capability, governance, financial analysis, commercial awareness and working effectively in partnerships.

Priority School Building Programme

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school buildings under wave 1 of the Priority Schools Building Programme received additional funding for those buildings; and for what that additional money was used.

Edward Timpson: Under the first phase of the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP), third parties have chosen to contribute funding at 133 schools. The majority of the third party funding is for additional places beyond the capacity requested in the PSBP application.The Department provides basic need funding to local authorities for the provision of additional places to meet basic need. Between 2011 and 2015, the Government allocated over £5 billion of basic need funding to local authorities for new school places and will be spending a further £7 billion between 2015 and 2021.By co-ordinating PSBP projects and the provision of additional places we are able to drive value for money for the public purse.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Service: Staff

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many operational prison officers there were on (a) 12 May 2010, (b) 4 September 2012, (c) 9 May 2015 and (d) 14 July 2016.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Information on the NOMS workforce is published quarterly at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics. We will always ensure prisons have safe staffing levels. In the 15 months to March 2016 we recruited 2340 prison officers nationally - a net increase of 540 officers.

Young Offenders: Education

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding will be allocated to the Youth Justice Board for expenditure on education in each of the next three years.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Youth Justice Board has responsibility for commissioning the youth secure estate, including the provision of education. We place a high priority on education and training for young people in the youth secure estate, but no decisions have yet been taken on funding allocations for the next three years.

Prisoners' Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were on each level of incentives and privileges in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Information on the average number of prisoners at each level of the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme (including Entry level, which was introduced on 1 November 2013) for 2013-14 and 2014-15 can be found in the NOMS Annual Report Management Information Addendum for those years via the following links:2013-14:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/338945/mi-addendum.pdf2014-15:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449925/mi-addendum.pdf_-_Adobe_Acrobat_Pro.pdf Figures for the three preceding years, 2010-11 to 2012-13, are provided in the table below.Table: Average Number of prisoners at each IEP level, 2010-11 to 2012-13, England & Wales  EnhancedStandardBasic2010/1136,23145,1011,3442011/1237,81845,4071,6082012/1339,77843,7381,788 Figures for 2015-16 will be published in the Annual NOMS Digest on 28 July.

Prisoners: Racially Aggravated Offences

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents classified as racially-motivated were reported by prisoners in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prime Minister

Syria: Military Intervention

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the 2015-16 Annual Report of the Intelligence and Security Committee, for what reasons it was decided not to provide the Intelligence and Security Committee with evidence on the UK's role in US air strikes against (a) Junaid Hussain and (b) Mohammed Emwazi.

Mrs Theresa May: I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 15 of the 2015-16 Annual Report of the Intelligence and Security Committee.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Sports: Ethnic Groups

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase the number of people from BME backgrounds taking part in sport.

Tracey Crouch: We know from Sport England’s Active People survey results that the number of people from BME backgrounds taking part in sport in England has fallen recently. However, Sport England are investing £2 million in Sporting Equals, which exists to promote ethnic diversity in sport and physical activity, between 2013 and 2017 to help get more people from BME communities involved in sport and physical activity. Over the last year the government’s strategy for sport and physical activity ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for An Active Nation’ has been published as well as Sport England’s strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’. The aim of both strategies is to create a more physically active nation, where people of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy the benefits that sport and physical activity can provide, at every stage in their lives.

Sports: Females

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase the number of women taking part in sport.

Tracey Crouch: Sport England’s latest Active People Survey results show that the number of women playing sport and being active in England is increasing faster than the number of men, with 7.12 million females aged 16 years or over playing sport once a week. However, we recognise that there are various obstacles which still exist that put women off sport and initiatives such as This Girl Can, a Sport England behaviour change campaign, have helped encourage women and girls to get active. We are keen to remove any barrier that prevents women from taking part in sport and over the last year the government’s strategy for sport and physical activity ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for An Active Nation’ has been published as well as Sport England’s strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’. The aim of both strategies is to create a more physically active nation, where people of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy the benefits that sport and physical activity can provide, at every stage in their lives.

Sports: Disability

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve access to sport for people with disabilities.

Tracey Crouch: There is already fantastic work going on to improve access to sport for people with disabilities in England such as the English Federation of Disability Sport’s Talk to Me principles which outline ten clear steps that providers can follow to make their activities more appealing to disabled people, and Disability Rights UK’s Get Yourself Active 8 project, which is led by and for disabled people and which seeks to explore how Disabled People’s User Led Organisations (DPULOs) can lead the development of better physical activity and sport opportunities for disabled people locally. It is important that sport is accessible to all and that we continue to break down those barriers that prevent all under-represented groups from engaging in sport and wider physical activity. Over the last year the government’s strategy for sport and physical activity ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for An Active Nation’ has been published as well as Sport England’s strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’. The aim of both strategies is to create a more physically active nation, where people of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy the benefits that sport and physical activity can provide, at every stage in their lives. In line with the strategies Sport England will triple its current investment in tackling inactivity to over £250 million.

Ministry of Defence

Navy: Maps

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many out of use naval charts are held by his Department; and what estimate he has made of the value of such charts.

Mark Lancaster: Royal Navy nautical charts are only printed for training and operational requirements. Once issued they are only used by the relevant Unit and, as stated on 14 July 2016 in answer to Question 42313, the accounting value of our holdings is rated as 'Zero'.



QnA extract on Ministry of Defence Maps
(Word Document, 14.41 KB)

Veterans: Housing

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what transitional housing support is available to service members and their families leaving the armed forces.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) provides education and support to Service personnel due to leave the Armed Forces to prepare them for the transition to civilian life. This includes education and advice about future housing options, delivered by the Joint Service Housing Advice Office.Service leavers have priority in applying for Government sponsored affordable housing schemes and they retain this status for a period of 12 months in England and Wales and 24 months in Scotland after their discharge from service. Those injured in Service should also have preferential access to appropriate housing schemes, as well as assistance with necessary adaptations to private housing or Service accommodation whilst serving.The MOD referral scheme also provides support to Service leavers and their families, with social housing offers made directly by housing associations and other charitable housing providers following discharge.

Home Office

Offenders: Foreign Nationals

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders have been living in the community for (a) less than six months, (b) between six months and one year, (c) between one and two years, (d) between two and three years, (e) between three and four years, (f) between four and five years and (g) over five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Our records indicate that as of March 2016, there were 5,895 foreign national offenders awaiting deportation. Please see following table with the number of foreign national offenders living in the community as at March 2016.Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) living in the community by length of time since release, March 2016 Time since releaseTotal FNOs  Less than 6 months522  Between 6 months and one year440  Between one and two years843  Between two and three years574  Between three and four years466  Between four and five years344  Over five years1,792  No UK conviction or sentence  end date not recorded 914  Total March 20165,895  (1) The figures quoted have been derived from management information from the Home Office databases and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.(2) A Foreign National Offender (FNO) is defined as an individual with a criminal case on the Home Office's Case Information Database (CID) and may include individuals with asylum cases.(3) Figures relate to those FNOs who have completed their custodial sentence and are subject to deportation action living in the community.(4) Figures relate to a snapshot of cases as of March 2016.(5) Details of restrictions may not be routinely available from the Case Information Database at the time of reporting for FNOs. This includes those FNOs with overseas convictions identified by increased use of intelligence (e.g. from the Association of Chief Police Officers Records Office, ACRO) where there has not been any custodial detention within the UK. The consequence of this is that these cases cannot be counted within the different length of time since release categories and are then recorded in the column labelled Data Quality.

Marriage of Convenience

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of immigration marriage fraud have led to (a) an investigation and (b) a subsequent deportation in each of the last eight years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The information requested is shown in the following table: YearCases referredTotal Investigations2014/15137542015/165547Prior to 2014 the records were not held centrally. The decrease in the number of referrals to the Home Office can be aligned to the introduction of the Immigration Act 2014. This legislation extends the notification period for those seeking to marry up to 70 days and provides time for the Home Office to investigate whether the marriage is sham. The effect of this is that those marriages deemed to be sham can be prevented from taking place. It would be a disproportionate cost to disaggregate information on the number of criminal investigations for this offence from all of those prosecuted who were subsequently deported.

South Yorkshire Police

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Prime Minister will meet members of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign to discuss the Independent Police Complaints Commission's decision not to make public the report into allegations of police misconduct at Orgreave in 1984.

Brandon Lewis: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) oversees the police complaints system in England and Wales. It is operationally independent of the police, government and complainants, and makes its decisions independently and free from political influence. It would therefore be inappropriate for me to discuss the IPCC’s decision. The Home Secretary does though plan to meet members of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign immediately after the summer recess to discuss their case on the need for an inquiry into the events at Orgreave in 1984.

Modern Slavery Act 2015

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what Statutory Instruments required by the Modern Slavery Act 2015 have yet to be laid by her Department.

Sarah Newton: The majority of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 has already been enacted and is having a positive impact on the protection of victims and the prosecution of perpetrators. The only duty to make regulations in the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is in Section 48. The Government reaffirmed on 28 June its commitment to commencing Section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. As announced, the Government is trialling a revised model in the Independent Child Trafficking Advocacy service in three early adopter sites. The commencement of Section 48 requires resolutions of both Houses. Once these have been secured the Government will seek to commence Section 48 and begin the procedure to compile the affirmative regulations required by that section.

South Yorkshire Police

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with the Independent Police Complaints Commission on its decision not to make public the report into allegations of police misconduct at Orgreave in 1984.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 19 July 2016



The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) oversees the police complaints system in England and Wales. It is operationally independent of the police, government and complainants, and makes its decisions independently and free from political influence. The Home Office has therefore had no discussions with the IPCC concerning its decision not to make public the report into allegations of police misconduct at Orgreave in 1984.

Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to ratify the Istanbul Convention.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The previous Government signed the Istanbul Convention to show the strong commitment it placed on tackling violence against women and girls and this Government remains committed to ratifying it.The UK already complies with the vast majority of the Convention’s articles but further amendments to domestic law, to take extra-territorial jurisdiction over a range of offences (as required by Article 44), are necessary before the Convention can be ratified. We are currently considering the approach to implementing the extra-territorial jurisdiction requirements in England and Wales and will seek to legislate when the approach is agreed and Parliamentary time allows.

Visas

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 2 intra-company transfer visa applications were (a) received and (b) refused in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The information is provided in the table below.Entry clearance visa applications and cases resolved (granted, refused, withdrawn/lapsed): Intra-company transfers(including dependants)YearApplicationsCases Resolvedof which   GrantedRefusedWithdrawn/lapsed201142,22941,94640,6441,107195201248,70448,15847,218813127201354,96555,42254,86847678201461,08961,01060,45446096201559,03859,40558,93141955NotesApplications do not equal cases resolved. Applications made in a year may be resolved in a subsequent year The latest quarterly Home Office immigration statistics on entry clearance visa applications, grants and refusals by category are published in ‘Immigration Statistics’, Visas volume 1, table vi_01_q, latest edition available from the Home Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2016/list-of-tables#visas

British Nationality: Scotland

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many test centres there are in Scotland for citizenship applicants to take the (a) life in the UK and (b) English language test.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Holding answer received on 20 July 2016



(a) There are two test centres proving the life in the UK test in Scotland – located in Edinburgh and Glasgow.(b) There are two test centres providing the Secure English Language Test (SELT) in Scotland – also located in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Visas

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the use of Tier 2 intra-company transfer visas to ensure they are used legitimately.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Employers must justify the reasons why they wish to sponsor migrant workers when they apply to the Home Office. We also routinely carry out compliance checks and visits on sponsoring employers.On 24 March 2016, the Government announced reforms to the ICT category, to align it more closely with its original intention as a route for senior managers and specialists. From April 2017, we will require all transferees (except graduate trainees) to qualify under a single category with a minimum salary threshold of £41,500.We will also review the extent to which allowances may be counted as salary, to ensure we have appropriate safeguards in place against undercutting of the resident labour market.

British Nationality

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review the provision of test centres for citizenship applications; and if she will investigate the potential for increased use of digital technology for such applications from remote areas of the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The networks of test centres in place for the Life in the UK test and the Secure English Language Test (SELT) are subject to continuous review. Provision is linked to demand. There are currently no plans to deliver tests outside of the approved networks.

Passports

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review the cost of passport applications for (a) adults and (b) children.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Her Majesty’s Passport Office reviews passport fees annually to ensure they are set to recover the full cost of providing the passport service. The review is currently underway and is carried out collectively with Her Majesty’s Treasury, ensuring compliance with all relevant legislation and guidance including Managing Public Money.

Asylum: Eritrea

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish updated country guidance for asylum applications made by Eritrean nationals.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Holding answer received on 21 July 2016



Updated country information and guidance on Eritrea will be published on the www.gov.uk website shortly.

Asylum: Families

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to publish the number of applications for refugee family reunion which were granted outside the rules in its quarterly migration statistics.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Holding answer received on 21 July 2016



The Home Office does not currently plan to change the data that is published on this category of applications. The question covers a number of different casework operations and the information is not recorded in a way which can be reported directly.The Home Office keeps under review the statistics that are published in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, balancing user needs against burdens on data suppliers.

EU Nationals

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government has taken since the EU referendum to ensure that nationals of other EU countries living in the UK are made welcome and supported.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Holding answer received on 21 July 2016



The Government recognises the invaluable contribution European nationals make to our economy, our society and to our daily lives and we continue to welcome them to the UK.The Government has repeatedly stated that there will be no immediate changes in the circumstances of European nationals and their family members entering or currently residing in the UK and we have published guidance on gov.uk which makes this clear.The Government wants to be able to guarantee the legal status of EU nationals who are living in the UK, and we are confident that we will be able to do this. But we must also win the same rights for British nationals living in European countries, and it will be a priority for the Government to achieve those things together.

Northern Ireland Office

EU Grants and Loans: Northern Ireland

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what funding his Department received from EU sources in each of the last five years.

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans his Department has to mitigate any loss of funding resulting from the decision to leave the EU.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 21 July 2016



The Northern Ireland Office does not receive any funding from EU sources.

Department for International Trade

Shellfish: Exports

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much shellfish was exported from (a) England and (b) Scotland in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Mark Garnier: HMRC special analysis showing the value of shellfish exports from England and Scotland is set out in the table below. Data are provisional and subject to revision. Exports of shellfish (£million)April 2015 to March 2016  England191Scotland185Source: HMRC special analysis of Regional Trade Statistics database

Whisky: Exports

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much Scotch whisky was exported from (a) England and (b) Scotland in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Mark Garnier: HMRC special analysis showing the value of Scotch Whisky exports from England and Scotland is set out in the table below. Data are provisional and subject to revision. Exports of Scotch Whisky (£million)April 2015 to March 2016 England144Scotland3,554Source: HMRC special analysis of Regional Trade Statistics database

Balance of Trade

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he plans to take to reduce the UK's trade deficit.

Mark Garnier: Since 2010 the Government has succeeded in reducing the trade deficit by £4bn or 9.4% through a number of measures delivered by UKTI such as the Exporting is GREAT campaign. We will continue this work and boost our delivery of assistance to British business through new initiatives such as the Directory of Exporters, due to be formally launched in November, and other measures.

UK Trade with EU

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate his Department has made of how long it will take to negotiate a trade deal with the EU after the UK leaves the EU.

Mark Garnier: It is in the interests of all parties to secure an agreement that provides the basis for the fullest possible market access. The timescale will partly be determined by the discussions held prior to Brexit.

UK Trade with EU

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the time that will be required for the UK to reach a trade deal with the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Garnier: It is in the interests of all parties to secure an agreement that provides the basis for the fullest possible market access. The timescale will partly be determined by the discussions held prior to Brexit.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Pigmeat: China

Nigel Adams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department submitted the final information required by the Chinese authorities to approve the export of pigs' trotters to China to those authorities.

George Eustice: We have worked with the UK pork industry to collate the necessary data and information requested by the Chinese authorities. The last set of information from all companies involved was submitted at the end of June and we continue to work with the Chinese authorities as they review this information to ensure they have everything they need to finalise the agreement.

Pigmeat: China

Nigel Adams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what length of time there was between her Department receiving information from Cranswick plc that was required for the approval of the export of pigs' trotters to China before her Department provided that information to the Chinese authorities.

George Eustice: The Chinese authorities requested information relating to the whole UK pork industry, involving the collation of information from a number of different companies. Once the necessary information was received from all pork companies involved, via AHDB, this was reviewed and verified by Defra and submitted to the Chinese authorities with accompanying competent authority assurances. The information was submitted to the Chinese authorities as soon as it was ready, following review and verification by Defra, meaning that it was sent in four separate tranches. Information relating to Cranswick specifically was first received on 21 December 2015 and submitted the following morning. The second tranche was received on 26 January and contained a large amount of detailed information from all the companies involved. This required extensive review and verification by Defra and was sent on 3 March. The third set of information was received on 24 March and once the necessary verification had taken place was submitted on 4 April. The final set of information was received on 24 June and submitted to the Chinese authorities on 27 June.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Maps

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2016 to Question 42314, what the process is for disposal of outdated or damaged maps held by her Department.

George Eustice: Defra has no specific process for disposal of printed maps. A number of out of date maps were included in a sale of old library books in 2014 and the proceeds of £161.60 were donated to charity.

Timber: Air Pollution

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research her Department has conducted or assessed on the effect of wood-burning stoves on air pollution.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra has commissioned its independent Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) to assess the potential air quality impacts of biomass combustion, including from domestic wood burning stoves. The report reviews the current evidence base and provides recommendations for further assessment. The report will be published in due course. Air quality is monitored and assessed on an ongoing basis. The National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory is updated annually and compiles data on total UK air pollutant emissions from a broad range of sources. This includes estimates of emissions from domestic combustion. Defra undertakes air quality modelling to assess the impact emissions have on concentrations of air pollutants in the UK. This is carried out on an annual basis. Defra also commissioned research aimed at testing different measurement techniques on stoves to inform analysis on the impacts of the Eco-design Directive, which will provide new Particulate Matter emission limits for domestic stoves and boilers. This research will be published in due course.

Tree Planting

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to encourage tree planting; and what grants are available for that purpose.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is committed to planting 11 million trees in England during this Parliament, and is also supporting the planting of a million trees by schoolchildren, in partnership with the Woodland Trust. Individual administrations within the UK determine their own ambitions for tree planting. In England, we encourage tree planting by championing sector-led initiatives, such as Grown in Britain and the Roots to Prosperity strategy, in their work to grow demand for wood from ground level up, developing the woodland economy. We also support the Woodland Carbon Code to help to attract private investment in woodland creation. Grants are available from the Forestry Commission under the EU funded Woodland Creation Grant in the Rural Development Programme for England. Until negotiations conclude and the UK leaves the EU, all existing arrangements remain in place, including the rural development programme. We are working with the Treasury to ensure continuity, particularly for agri-environment schemes, but without prejudice to future decisions.

Environment Protection: EU Law

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is her policy to continue to require protection of habitats and species under the same or similar terms to those of current EU law.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Until we leave the EU, current arrangements for our environment remain in place. Defra will continue to ensure the right policies are in place for a cleaner, healthier environment for everyone. The Government will wish to consider the impacts of the decision to leave the EU, including for protected species, the UK’s Natura 2000 and other protected sites. We have a manifesto commitment to produce a 25 Year Plan for the Environment. We all now have an opportunity to consider our long-term vision for the environment following the referendum vote.

Rural Areas

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to assess the potential effect on rural communities of a UK withdrawal from the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The UK is still a member of the EU and we will continue to engage with EU business as normal and be engaged in EU decision-making in the usual way. Once Article 50 is invoked, we will remain bound by EU law until the withdrawal agreement comes into force. We now have an historic opportunity to deliver an environment for future generations to be proud of, grow our world leading food and farming industry that continues to attract significant global investment and harness the enormous economic potential of our rural communities.

Air Pollution: West Yorkshire

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will take steps to work with local authorities and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to improve air quality in West Yorkshire.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We are aware that local authorities have a crucial role to play in improving air quality across the UK. The Government is already taking a number of steps to support them in this role. The national air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide, published in December 2015, sets out a comprehensive approach for meeting air quality challenges by implementing a new programme of Clean Air Zones in five cities in England, one of which is Leeds. The Plan combines targeted local and national measures, forming part of a wider approach that exploits new and clean technologies, such as electric and ultra-low emission vehicles. We have allocated funding to help Leeds City Council implement the Clean Air Zone and are working closely with City officials on its development. Delivery of the Clean Air Zone will also take account of the need to work closely with related authorities and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Local authorities additionally have a duty to evaluate local air quality against standards set by the Government. They designate air quality management areas (AQMAs) at locations where these standards are not met and take remedial actions to improve air quality at these locations. Six local authorities in West Yorkshire - Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield and York - have declared AQMAs and are implementing remedial action plans to improve air quality in their areas. Defra introduced regulatory and guidance changes in 2015 to provide better and clearer guidance to local authorities on local air quality management to enable them to improve air quality in their areas and achieve better health and environmental outcomes. Defra supports local authorities through the Air Quality Grant Scheme, a competitive fund they can bid into to support local action to improve air quality. Details and criteria for this year’s scheme will be available later in the year.

Department of Health

Dental Services

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of NHS dentists practicing in (a) Bradford and (b) other areas with significantly above average incidences of oral and dental health problems.

David Mowat: NHS England is required to commission primary care dental services to meet local need. Generally there are not difficulties in finding dentists to work on services where these are commissioned. The local National Health Service is undertaking a detailed project to understand the ongoing access issues in Bradford in order to identify a solution. NHS England is also looking at how best to improve oral health in 10 high need areas.

Food: EU Law

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to bring forward proposals to change any aspect of current legislation on food, animal feed safety and food hygiene formerly dealt with by the EU after the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

Nicola Blackwood: Until we leave, the United Kingdom will remain a full member of the European Union, with all of the rights and obligations. The content of future food and feed legislation will be dependent on the outcome of negotiations on the UK’s exit from the European Union. The Food Standard Agency’s priority will remain the same: to protect the interests of consumers in relation to food.

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to make personal devices for instant monitoring of insulin levels available to people with diabetes on the NHS.

Nicola Blackwood: We are not aware of any clinical utility associated with the instant monitoring of insulin levels. However, continuous glucose monitoring devices can measure glucose levels 24 hours a day and it is for National Health Service commissioners to decide whether to make these available to their local populations. In August 2015, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidelines which recommend that such devices should not be made routinely available to people with Type 1 diabetes unless they are willing to commit to using them at least 70% of the time and to calibrate them as needed (as well as meeting certain other criteria). NICE has found that, for some people, continuous glucose monitoring can have clinical benefit but generally it is not more effective than current methods of self-monitoring.

HIV Infection: Diagnosis

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many adults were newly diagnosed with HIV in (a) England, (b) each parliamentary constituency and (c) each local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library data showing the (a) number of people living with HIV, (b) number of HIV deaths and (c) level of HIV prevalence in (i) England, (ii) each parliamentary constituency and (iii) each local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people accessed HIV care in (a) England and (b) each parliamentary constituency in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many HIV tests were undertaken in (a) England, (b) each parliamentary constituency and (c) each local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the proportion of adults with HIV that had a CD4 cell count below 350 within 91 days of diagnosis in (a) England, (b) each parliamentary constituency and (c) each local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Nicola Blackwood: Public Health England (PHE) has developed Fingertips, a rich source of indicators across a range of health and wellbeing themes that have been designed to support the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and commissioning to improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities. The sexual and reproductive health profiles for local authorities can be found in the following link:http://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/sexualhealth/data#page/9/gid/8000057/pat/6/par/E12000004/ati/101/are/E06000015 Data at parliamentary constituency level is not available for any measure as requested. It is estimated that for 2014 (the most recent year for which figures are available) there are 103,700 people living with HIV (includes both diagnosed and undiagnosed infection) in the United Kingdom; a breakdown for England only is not available. Further breakdown by local authority is not available. Table 1 below shows the number of people newly diagnosed with HIV, numbers of death in people with HIV, number people accessing HIV care and HIV testing in England and proportion of adults diagnosed with a cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) count below 350 cells, for 2014. EnglandNew HIV diagnoses (all ages)5,559Deaths in people with HIV (all ages)518Accessing HIV care (all ages)78,317HIV tests performed in sexual health clinics (all ages) (2015)1,129,456HIV self-sampling service (all ages) (November 2015 – July 2016 only)15,631HIV tests performed in antenatal settings (all ages)693,570Proportion of people with CD4 count below 350 cells within 91 days of diagnosis (all ages)40% (1,748/4415) Note: I. Data is not included on additional HIV tests undertaken in England such as on blood donors, tests conducted by general practitioners that are not on pregnant women, tests undertaken by private practitioners or pharmacies, etc.II. New HIV diagnoses are not synonymous with new HIV infections; people can and do live with an undiagnosed HIV infection for many years before they are diagnosed.III. The proportion of people diagnosed with a CD4 count.IV. Numbers accessing care at the local authority level are restricted to age groups 15-59 years to be consistent with British HIV Association HIV testing guidelines.V. Data on HIV testing in sexual health clinics represent the total number of HIV tests performed and not the number of people tested for HIV. HIV testing data exclude people accessing sexual health clinics located in England who are residents in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or abroad.VI. The figure presented for the HIV self-sampling service represents the total number of kits returned for testing and are provisional. Data are available from November 2015, when the service began to mid July 2016. Data presented are for period November 2015 to January 2016 available from conference presentation by Guerra et al 0O38:http://www.bashh.org/documents/Events/Conference%202016/BASHH%20Conference%202016%20Abstract%20Book.pdfLocal Authority data are owned by local commissioners and not published nationally.VII. Deaths include all-cause mortality, including non-HIV related deaths.

Diabetes: Depressive Illnesses

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has undertaken or assessed on links between depression and diabetes.

Nicola Blackwood: NHS England is undertaking work aimed at supporting people with diabetes who need psychological support: for example, psychological support for children with diabetes is being incentivised through the paediatric diabetes best practice tariff. More generally, work has recently been undertaken on treating common mental health disorders for people with long term physical conditions, including diabetes. Based on the findings from this and other published evidence, Implementing the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health outlines NHS England’s ambition that two thirds of the expansion of psychological therapies services for common mental health problems, such as depression, will be integrated within physical health pathways, including diabetes.

Eating Disorders: Lancashire

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve community-based eating disorder services in East Lancashire.

Nicola Blackwood: The provision of local health services is a matter for the local National Health Service. The Lancashire Children and Young People’s Resilience, Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Transformation Plan 2015-2020 sets out plans for improvements to services, including eating disorder services. The Plan can be accessed using the following link: http://www.blackburnwithdarwenccg.nhs.uk/health/child-health/camhs/

Smoking: Death

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data exists about the proportion of excess mortality in lower socioeconomic status groups due to smoking-related diseases; whether the forthcoming tobacco control strategy for England will contain measures to address that issue; and when he expects to publish the next tobacco control strategy for England.

Nicola Blackwood: The independent review into health inequalities in England undertaken by Professor Sir Michael Marmot culminated in the publication in 2010 of Fair Society, Healthy Lives. The review identified the most effective evidence-based strategies for reducing health inequalities in England and made the following recommendation: “Tobacco control is central to any strategy to tackle health inequalities as smoking accounts for approximately half of the difference in life expectancy between the lowest and highest income groups. Smoking-related death rates are two to three times higher in low-income groups than in wealthier social groups.” The new tobacco control plan is currently being developed and Ministers will decide on an appropriate publication date in due course.

Primary Health Care

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an estimate of the potential savings that each clinical commissioning group could make through greater promotion of self-care for patients; and if he will make a statement.

David Mowat: Initial analysis of the potential financial impact of self-care interventions demonstrated that there is the ability for a substantial amount of savings to be derived from the Self-care Programme over the next few years. This is subject to the successful delivery of alternative, complementary programmes of activity over the same period. NHS England is in the process of conducting detailed financial modelling predicated on a suite of self-care interventions distributed across five evidence-based areas of practice identified through the Realising the Value Programme. This detailed modelling will result in the production of a number of toolkits for commissioners due to be published this autumn. More information can be found at the following link: www.nesta.org.uk/project/realising-value In terms of potential savings that each clinical commissioning group (CCG) could make through greater promotion of self-care for patients, each CCG will start from a different point in terms of the amount and quality of self-care that its population currently undertakes and will also have different future potential in scope for self-care dependent on geography, demography, and disease prevalence.

Blood: Contamination

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral contribution of the previous Prime Minister on 13 July 2016, Official Report, column 291, on contaminated blood and compensation, when he expects the details of that scheme to be published.

Nicola Blackwood: Reforming the infected blood ex-gratia support schemes remain a priority for this Government and, at his last Prime Minister’s Questions on 13 July 2016, the then Prime Minister announced the publication of the Government’s plans for reforming the current payment support schemes for individuals affected by HIV and/or hepatitis C through National Health Service-supplied blood, including its response to the public consultation which ran earlier this year. The then Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Public Health (Jane Ellison) also issued a Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS88) on 14 July 2016. The response document went live on the Gov.UK website on 13 July 2016 and can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/infected-blood-reform-of-financial-and-other-support

Older People: Depressive Illnesses

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people over the age of 65 are using medication for depression; and if he will estimate how many such people cite loneliness as a contributory factor to their depression.

Nicola Blackwood: Information about the number of people over the age of 65 using medication for depression is not collected. Conditions for which medicines are prescribed are not recorded.Loneliness is a complex problem and affects people in different ways. It is not possible to estimate how many people cite loneliness as a contributory factor to their depression.

Tobacco

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2016 to Question 37407, when he plans to publish the new Tobacco Control Plan.

Nicola Blackwood: The Government remains committed to publishing a new tobacco control plan and Ministers will decide on a publication date shortly.

Blood: Contamination

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what legal or other agreements the Government has with suppliers of contaminated blood products to provide for liability and compensatory efforts to support people who contracted illnesses as a result of the use of such products.

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding has been received by the public purse from suppliers of contaminated blood products to support compensation schemes for people adversely affected by the use of such products.

Nicola Blackwood: There are no legal or other agreements in place between the Government and suppliers of contaminated blood products to provide support for those who contracted illnesses as a result of the use of such products. No money has been received by the Government from suppliers of such products to fund ex-gratia support.

HIV Infection: Disease Control

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much Public Health England plans to spend on HIV prevention in 2016-17; and what interventions will be provided with that budget.

Nicola Blackwood: In 2016/17, Public Health England’s (PHE) allocation for the national HIV Prevention and Sexual Health Promotion programme is £2.5 million and these monies will be invested in five different workstreams. A total of £1.2 million has been allocated to the national HIV prevention programme for most at-risk populations (MARPs) which will deliver, on behalf of PHE, a range of activities in system leadership, social marketing, amplification of local HIV prevention and monitoring and evaluation that aim to reduce HIV incidence in MARPs. This contract has been re-tendered and retained by HIV Prevention England, a consortium led by Terrence Higgins Trust. A total of £0.6 million has been allocated for the 2016/17 HIV Prevention Innovation fund which will support voluntary sector organisations, supported by their local authority, to deliver local projects that offer new and innovative ways of delivering HIV prevention in groups at high risk of HIV. A total of £0.2 million has been allocated as PHE’s contribution to the national HIV self-sampling service jointly commissioned with over 80 local authorities. A total of £0.25 million for the Sexual Health and Reproductive Health Information contract was re-tendered and successfully retained by FPA (formerly Family Planning Association) who will deliver, on behalf of PHE, a range of information products to enable people to make healthy, safe and sustainable sexual and reproductive health choices. A total of £0.25 million has been allocated for monitoring and evaluation of the HIV Prevention and Sexual Health Promotion programme. PHE staff are also involved in supporting HIV prevention in England through data analysis and reporting, public health system leadership and management of programme activities at both national and local levels.